Demographic Projections in Orange County

Brian Joseph of the Orange County Register reports on projected demographic changes:

Hispanics will become Orange County’s ethnic majority in 2034, seven years earlier than previously projected, according to new state figures released Monday.

The state also projects that Asians will outnumber whites in Orange County by 2046. Previous figures never envisioned such a time.

The new projections, which update numbers released in 2004, paint a familiar picture of the white population’s decline, albeit on an adjusted timetable. In 2004, the state projected Hispanics would account for 50 percent of its population, 25.3 million people, in 2038. Today, it now projects Hispanics won’t reach the 50 percent mark until 2042.

At the county level, however, the timeframe has accelerated with Orange County projected to have a majority Hispanic population of 1.9 million by 2034, instead of a 1.8 million Hispanic majority in 2041. Click here for the rest of the story.

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